The Effect of Breast Cancer and Breast Self-examination Education Given to Women on Breast Cancer Fear and Breast Examination Skills

According to a news published by the World Health Organization (WHO); More than 2.3 million cases of breast cancer occur each year, making it the most common cancer among adults. In 95% of all countries, breast cancer is the first or second cause of female cancer death. In 2020, 2.3 million women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths occurred. In Turkey, breast cancer ranks first among the most common cancer types in women, and the number of breast cancer cases in women in 2020 was recorded as 74 638. As a result of this situation, WHO (2023) published the Global Breast Cancer Initiative Framework to save 2.5 million lives from breast cancer by 2040. This published framework includes health promotion for early detection, timely diagnosis and comprehensive management of breast cancer.

One of the most effective ways to reduce breast cancer mortality and morbidity rate is early diagnosis. It is important to determine early diagnosis and signs and symptoms of cancer before they appear. Early diagnosis of breast cancer is possible with breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination and mammography. Breast self-examination is an important examination method in terms of detecting changes in breast tissue and preventing subsequent complications. It is also an easy-to-apply, cheap and non-invasive method. In Turkey, it is recommended that women regularly perform breast self-examination every month after the age of 20, women between the ages of 20 and 40 should have a clinical breast examination every two years, and women between the ages of 40 and 69 should have a clinical breast examination every year and have a mammogram every two years.

There are studies showing that fear of breast cancer has a positive and negative impact on early diagnosis behaviors. Champion et al. (2004) stated that women with moderate breast cancer fear had a high rate of early detection behavior, whereas low and high fear levels had a negative effect on behavior. In the study conducted by Yavan et al. (2010) on 188 women, 2% of the women. They found that 3 of them had regular BSE and 78.7% of them had never had a mammography. In addition, 85% of the women included in the study stated that they had a fear of breast cancer due to a family history of breast cancer, being diagnosed with breast cancer, and the presence of risk factors. Study results show that fear of breast cancer affects screening results. Therefore, aim in the study is; To determine the effect of breast cancer and BSE training given to women on breast cancer fear and BSE skills.